All because of bread
by Certainly-Not-A-Writer
Summary: When the truth comes out, everything else comes out with it. Including the stuff everyone wants to keep under wraps. Rated T for slight coarse language. May contain OOC. Please review!
1. Chapter 1: When she would smile

_**Disclaimer:**__ (Raises right hand with wooden starfish) I, (Whatever my pen name is now), solemnly swear that I do not own Clannad since it belongs to Key, Kyo Ani, and Toei (they made the movie, right?). Only the story and ideas presented in this fanfic are mine. No profit is being made by the author of this story._

_So help me starfish._

_**Author's note: **__Well, first of all is 'Hi, thanks for reading my fanfic'. _

_Second of all is, to those who find this fic very, very familiar and are planning to ask some questions, then I'll preempt with an answer. This is a re-upload (or repost) of my second fic, 'All because of bread', the differences being that it is now divided into chapters and some tweaks (both plot-related and mechanical) had been made to make it better and more reader friendly than the first one. _

_Now we all got that cleared up, to those who have read it before then you are welcome to not continue with reading this version (But thanks for reading the first one). To those who haven't, then go on with reading and thanks for looking it up._

_Now, onwards with the fic!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>_

_**When she would smile**_

**Furukawa bakery, 7:00 a.m.**

Morning. I stood behind the cash register, staring out into blankness when I should be out in the field playing baseball with the kids in the park. A familiar smell filled my nose as I tiptoed towards the door with my bat. Startled, I stopped and scrambled back to my cashier post. A woman came out from the backroom, with a tray of delicious-looking bread ready to be sold (Or to be given to Isogai-san. Whatever came first).

"Akio-san…"

I was smoking. "What is it?"

She arranged bread on the counters with prongs. Then she said proudly, "I tried a new idea again!"

A jolt in my head and I spat the cigarette out. "What? Er-I mean, really?"

She nodded. "This is the best one I've made, I'm sure of it!"

_Oh god, not another one. Please don't make me taste them, please don't make me taste them, please don't make me taste them…_

She cocked her head to one side, expectant. "Akio-san, could you please taste them?"

Yecch!

I scratched my head. "Uh, you see… Errr… I, I… I can't."

Her brows frowned. "What did you say?"

"Sanae, I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, Akio-san."

I sighed, thanking the heavens _that _still worked.

"Can you taste them now, Akio-san?"

_Hiii…! It didn't work!_

"I, I, I, I, I…" Calm down, damnit! Taking a deep breath, "…I'll taste them later," I said with my deep 'I'm awesome' voice.

"Why?"

"I just uh, ate…?"

She laughed. "Oh, of course! Breakfast! Why didn't I remember of that?"

_Oookay_… "Y—eah, breakfast. I thought that I wouldn't, uh, savor your bread's taste that well since I just ate. Yeah." I started nodding. "Let's go with that."

"Well then promise me you'll taste them later, 'kay?"

"Sure, no problem." I tried to make myself look cool and decided to use the fact that Sanae had classes that afternoon. "Now, go and prepare for those tutorial lessons. Those kids you teach can be quite a handful."

"You're right." She smiled again. "I think they'll come here in an hour. In the meantime, I'll prepare lunch. Take care of the store until then, okay honey?"

She left, and I held 'the pose' (which was just leaning on the wall, arms folded) until I heard her footsteps disappear. Then I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. The worst part was if Sanae found me eating, she'd make me taste that new bread of hers…

As realization (and hunger) sank in, light started disappearing from my face as though I just received the curse of god.

"My breakfast, nooo-!"

I crumpled. I was still lucky, though. I managed to live through the morning without Sanae running out of the door. I looked at the bread she just brought in with a suspicious glare those soap opera detectives gave to crime suspects. They looked normal enough; just round buns. But they had multiple colored dots and… wait. Were those cheese sticks jutting out the sides?

M&M and cheese buns. _Great, more dirt for the landfill…_

I sniffed them and they smelled normal, despite the cheese. Then, a nostalgic feeling crept up inside me. I drew close to them, feeling that some of its bits got in my nose. Maybe these were…

_It'll kill you. Don't!_

The bun was already in my reach when I stopped. No, I-I wouldn't be fooled again! I'd tasted many others like this, all of them with tastes I would comment as from 'this is unbearable' to 'Omigod, did you just dip this in toxic sludge?' Last week, it was fiber loaf and I earned myself four glorious hours in the bathroom for my trouble. The week before that was rice cracker bread, where I accidentally drank dishwashing liquid and had Nagisa make bubbles with the Heimlich maneuver (Oh yeah, the cracker I choked on flew out the kitchen window and hit a cat). And the week before that was…

That wintry, cold feeling pierced my spine, and my mind went blank.

_A rainbow to you!_

In chilling fear I muttered, "Rainbow bread."

I could still remember that incident

…

**Furukawa bakery, A time that was too embarrassing to remember**

_It was an ordinary day, as always. The sun was up, the air smelled good, and the store's light burned out since I forgot to turn it off the night before. I was calling a mail order service for a new fluorescent one when Sanae brought a new tray to my face. It was a bun, of course. It looked good, but the strange thing was it had different colors that I usually found in a kaleidoscope. And they were all __**glowing**__. I couldn't even see my own face anymore in the blinding light._

_Yay, baked flashlights._

_Due to my experience with these kinds of breads, I first tested it using the most civilized and intelligent way possible (It's science, I tell 'ya!): I buried it under one of our ferns in the garden (I thought it would be too cruel to test it on dogs)._

_And, it happened._

_The fern withered, and then disintegrated into black dust. Some of it got in my eye and I swore I went blind for a few minutes._

_It was… a waste to say the least. Now I had to buy a new fern. I was going to take the other buns on display away to a landfill when I gasped. At the counter, an old man was going to taste one._

_"No, wait! Stop!"_

_Too late! The old guy had sunk his teeth in. I watched in horror as his eyes glazed over and he fainted, his walking cane jettisoning in the air. It hit a tray that sent a pair of prongs flying towards unsuspecting Hirano-san, the local mechanic._

_"Ow, my eye!"_

_He stammered back and accidentally stepped on Tokunosu-san's (another regular customer) foot._

_"Ow, my foot!"_

_Jumping in pain, he fell on Fukuzawa-sensei who was walking in through the door. They fell out onto the sidewalk and it so happened to be that a guy on a bicycle was passing by and hit them both. And a bike wheel rolled into our store, a testament to the possible carnage._

_And in one day we lost four customers and had to pay a lot of money for bike reparations. Later that evening, I chucked the rest of the bread in a fire pit I made in the backyard, telling Sanae I was having one hell of a midlife crisis barbecue._

_"That's for my fern! Now, burn in hell!"_

**Furukawa bakery, the present; 7:19 a.m.**

Ugh, I still felt dizzy whenever I thought about it**.**

I frowned upon the buns, knowing that they would get thrown out sooner or later. But when I went back to the cash register I couldn't help but wonder why I still had that nostalgic feeling inside me. Then a customer came and they all started flooding in till noon.

The last customer left, and I heard Sanae reciting alphabets to kids in the backroom. Peaceful times like this should be spent with a game of baseball. But I was so tired that my mind was starting to get lost in the tranquil atmosphere created by talking kids, chirping birds, buzzing insects, and the blowing wind. Then everything slowly went blinkered. A dull thud later and I slumped on the counter, snoring soundly.

…

**One weird dream, Somewhere in the past**

"_Here."_

_I turn my head and there was a person reaching me a tray with something light brown in the middle._

"_Hm?"_

"_Please, taste it."_

_I take the warm bun into my palm and feed it in my mouth._

"_I know it's a bit undercooked but I hope you will like it…"_

_Time stops, as though it was necessary to catch that person's smile when I realized that this was the best bread I had ever tasted in this single life…_

…

**Furukawa bakery, (still) the present; 7:31 a.m.**

"Furukawa-san, Furukawa-san…"

Hm? Huzzat?

I opened my eyes, and a customer was in front of me. Judging by the look on his face he must've waited here all the time I was asleep.

Sanae was right. I _did_ have the inclination to sleep almost everywhere.

"Uh, sorry about that…I was kinda tired…" I scratched my head. "…what do you want today, sir?"

After giving the customer what he wanted, I sighed. I never knew I would end up running a bakery. I thought the name 'Furukawa' would be on banners of theaters and glitzy lights flashing my name as the leading actor of the latest Broadway show. Instead, it ended up on a dim, blinking store sign (Wow, thirteen years and I still couldn't get over it). I had to give up a lot of things for this place, and now I'm pretty much getting my due.

At least, some of it.

**Later that day, Furukawa bakery, 7:00 p.m**

Afternoon past and there were no customers anymore, just like any other day. Most of our stock got sold but Sanae's tray sat there, lonely as ever. It was always like that. Most of our customers generally knew how… 'Intriguing' her bread tasted. This was also why they probably memorized where she would put them. 'Avoid to live' was their unspoken rule. Lucky on our part, for if ever they took even one of those then we would probably have tons of lawsuits filed against us in an hour flat. Okay, that was too much. But still, that sort of thing happening would burn holes in our pockets one way or another. We would still have to pay for hospital bills.

"How was your day, the bearer of the superior Furukawa gene?" I asked before picking up a piece of pork cutlet with chopsticks.

We were at dinner. Nagisa had just come home and she and Sanae cooked up the equivalent of a feast. Chicken Yakitori, beef strips, pork cutlets, steamed vegetables, and a large pot's worth of rice. Would I get heart-burn after eating all these? The pork cutlets are already more than enough.

"It was fine, otou-san," my daughter replied, eating her share of food bit-by-bit like a lady.

"Fine's a bit vague." I smiled. "Can you tell us real news?"

"Um…" Her eyes rolled around. "Where should I start…?"

That timid face made me a bit nervous. Was her day not that good at all? I was going to tell her that it was okay for her not to say anything when a smile curved on her face.

"The theater club's been re-established!"

Sanae gasped, and the earth seemed to have stood still for a whole minute. All of us did nothing before she wrapped her arms around my daughter. "That's great, Nagisa! Now you can act on stage like an actress." She let go and held her face, letting out a deep sigh. "The theater… The lights, the glitz, the glamour, the warm feeling inside you when you wear a costume and pretend you're someone else…" She started swaying around, getting all excited. "I just love the theater!"

_Just as much as you love me, Sanae._

Nagisa hugged her. "Me too!"

Seeing this scene of mother and daughter in each other's arms made me feel proud as a father. Nagisa was finally able to reach her dream. A few weeks ago, I thought she was going to give up on that theater club of hers. But when I saw that brat (_Who I would more than love to tag as something worse. I can't find a better word yet!_) come along, she finally got it. That's good. People should chase after their dreams and never give up on them. Then when they're done, they could chase after a new dream.

As for Sanae, it was good that she got along with our daughter well. They should spend more time like these, especially on special occasions like our (drum roll, please) Saturday movie night.

At least, she was doing better than the day Nagisa almost died.

Sanae kept blaming herself, saying that she was a horrible mother. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, and couldn't even speak. Then she fell into a depression, where the doctor told me that anything could make it 'blow off'. One time, she almost killed herself with a knife…

Wait, why was I thinking like this? I shouldn't stick to the past, I should be thinking about what's happening now. All those bad things could be left behind. I couldn't keep myself from enjoying the present.

That was why I stood up, rummaged in our storage room, and brought out a dusty old box of party poppers from my house party some years ago. It was a good thing Sanae didn't ask questions.

"Otou-san," Nagisa curiously looked at the box I was holding, "What's that for?"

I put up a mad smile. "The theater club's open so we have to celebrate!"

Now I was consumed by an insane fixation for party fever!

She put down her head, hesitant. "But, we already celebrated at school…"

"Then," I opened the box and blew a party popper upwards, "we'll make an even bigger celebration here at home!"

_PARRRTY FEVERRR!_

Confetti and tape flew all over the living room. We went out on old tricorns and sounded those cheap party trumpets Sanae found. I busted out the mics and our Karaoke VHS and all of us sang to the dismay of cats, dogs, birds, crickets, people, and the neighborhood in general. We didn't care. That was family night and it didn't matter even if they called the police on us. The only important thing was us being happy, even just for the night. The song, the slow loss of voice, the laughter, the emotional high and physical high, everything made us elated.

And not to mention shameless. This was proven by me, since the atmosphere went up my head. So much that I dug out what I shouldn't have.

My old beat up orange jacket from the 80's.

The lights were dimmed, the VHS was blaring, and both Sanae and Nagisa were waving flashlights at me as I was holding the concert of the century on our table.

"_Birreh Jen ish not mah robbel! Oooh-! She is da girr who thinks dat I am da one!" _I threw my mic arm in the air. "_And the kid ish not mah zon! Wooo-!"_

In the hilarity, my raving (read: laughing) audience blew party poppers at my face.

Soon we all got tired. And, fearing we would attract the attention of the neighborhood watch association turned the Karaoke off and switched on the lights.

"From the greatest M.C. Aki-oh, congratulations Nagisa!" I shouted as I threw the jacket in the air due to overwhelming jubilation.

Pop! Smoke and streamers flew and landed on my head.

Nagisa and Sanae both laughed.

"Congratulations and good luck to you, Nagisa!" Sanae popped the last confetti popper.

I was so happy.

And with that, our little celebration ended. My wife and Nagisa cleaned up streamers while I ended up wrapping the leftovers with kitchen plastic.

Then I remembered…

I took a plastic bag from under our kitchen counter.

… Sanae's leftover bread.

So it would still be a pretty ordinary night, even with the party.

And what would be an ordinary night of mine without the part where I knocked on Isogai-san's door at nine o'clock in the evening?

**Isogai residence, 9:00 p.m.**

"Isogai-san. You there?"

After a few moments of knocking, a middle-aged woman opened the door. She had chin-length hair and a face that made me think she was just in her forties or something. But that'd make her as old as me.

And she had been in town way before my mother even finished high school.

I gave a bow. "Good evening, Isogai-san"

"Ah," her eyes widened, not even being suspicious of a man knocking on her door late at night. "Furukawa-san, what are you doing here so late in the evening?"

"Well, I'd like to give you some of our bread." I raised a white plastic bag up and choked out my salesman's voice. "All of Furukawa bread's specials. For free."

We never had specials. Isogai-san gave a knowing smile as we exchanged meaningful glances.

Unexpectedly, she said, "What's that on your head?"

_Huh?_ I put a hand on my scalp and realized that I was still wearing a tricorn.

"Oh, this." I took it off. "Just came from a party."

"Is that so…?"

And as expected, she looked at the bag and smiled.

"Why thank you, Furukawa-san. You are so kind." She gladly took the bag. "You should come inside for some tea."

I waved my hand shyly. "No, no, no ma'am. Its fine, no need." I hooked a thumb. "I live next door."

"Oh yes, I forgot." She laughed an old woman's laugh. "How silly of me."

I smiled. "I should be going now, ma'am."

"Oh, you should. It's getting late and it's pretty cold. You might get measles."

_Getting measles in this hot weather?_ "Okay, good evening to you."

"Good evening to you too." Her cheeks wrinkled as she smiled. "And thanks for the bread, dear."

_It's you I should be thanking._ "You're welcome, ma'am."

I began walking towards my store as the humid air brushed on my face and made me fan myself with a hand.

**Furukawa bakery, closing time**

"How was the bread, Akio-san?"

"It was delicious, just as expected from you Sanae, my love."

There I was, closing the shop with my wife. She took away trays while I closed the door's steel shutters. I felt the sound grind down my chest as I pulled them down.

"Were you able to eat them all?" she was now counting the money we earned that day.

I almost choked. "Y-yes, yes. Every single one."

She brightened up. "Good, then."

It was painful, really. Even after all the years I had been doing this, I still couldn't picture myself lying that well. With every letter that came out my mouth, guilt slowly crushed me. Especially at the part where…

"Thank you, Akio-san."

… She would smile.

"Oh yes," She said, "I'm going to try a new idea tomorrow."

_For the love of… The week's not even done yet!_ "Really?"

"It's now exactly a new idea. It's a sort of improvement on an old idea of mine. Something I made in the past that was pretty delicious."

"You made something good?" I paused. _Wait, why did I say that?_ "Er-I meant, you're going to revive an idea of yours?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh."

_Oh, for Pete's sake..._ "Good luck with that."

"I'll give it my best!"

She left through the backdoor as the last padlock clicked as though it sealed my fate. Damn me for living.

And I closed the Furukawa bakery's door for another night, like all the nights before it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: <strong>Well there you have it, the first chapter. If you're still interested, then by all means turn to the next one and thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2: The meaning behind everything

_**Disclaimer:**__ (Raises right hand with wooden starfish) I, (Whatever my pen name is now), solemnly swear that I do not own Clannad since it belongs to Key, Kyo Ani, and Toei (they made the movie, right?). Only the story and ideas presented in this fanfic are mine. No profit is being made by the author of this story._

_**Author's note:**__ Thanks a lot for reading!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 2:<strong>_

_**The meaning behind everything**_

**The next day, Furukawa bakery, 7:13 a.m.**

That morning, a tray of that new idea did come. It was a bun, same as yesterday. But now, it looked less weird. It was brown, pretty soft, and it had chocolate lines.

_What the hell is this?_ I stared at one. There was nothing funny looking with it, only what I thought was the number eleven in chocolate. I sniffed hard. Smelled good. I tried to see if there was any strange stuff in there like M&Ms or lobster. Nothing. Test completed. My hypothesis was that the bread's secret was hidden _inside _the bun. Either that or it's completely normal. But, then again…That was impossible. So I took one last good look at it, and left for the counter to light a cigarette. I started smoking. It always calmed my nerves, especially when I knew I might have to taste Sanae's bread sooner or later.

**Later that day, (Still) Furukawa bakery, 6:48 p.m.**

The afternoon passed, and less customers arrived, as expected. Night time came and most of the stock got sold. Only Sanae's tray of buns sat alone on that counter like lost children. I sighed. Too bad, throwing them away would be a waste. I needed fertilizer.

But it was necessary. I hesitated but was able to will myself to reach for a folded garbage bag under the cash register.

Then the store door opened.

"We're home!"

I looked at the direction that voice came from, and two figures came in. One had chestnut brown hair, and the other had blue hair.

It was Nagisa and behind her was that brat who always came with her. I almost forgot that they came home at this time.

I hid the trash bag behind my back. "Ah, looks like out cute daughter has come home."

Her face blushed. "Otou-san, I'm not that cute."

"Oh yeah, you aren't." I folded my arms. "Because you are not just our cute daughter. You are the cutest daughter anyone can have."

I declared that while raising my arms up in the air like some magician.

"Seriously, can this guy's condition get any worse?" Such a statement can only be made by that bug (I got tired of calling him brat).

And I heard that. "What did you say, punk?"

He would have repeated that if the tip end of my bat wasn't resting on his puny head.

"Nothing, you're just hearing things." Probably scared stiff…

…At my awesomeness.

"That's what I thought you said…" I was about to withdraw the bat. "Wait. What did you say?"

_That's it, I'm gonna kill 'ya right now!_

Then my daughter pouted. "Otou-san, let Tomoya-kun go."

"Tch, fine, fine." I took away the bat. "You're lucky my daughter's here, brat."

He threw me a defiant look. "Yeah, old man."

_Still trying to act tough, huh?_

She began walking towards the backdoor. "I'll go prepare dinner now."

I wave her away. "Off you go."

She left me and lanky boy (bug didn't sound too cool) in the shop. We stood silent for a while and I noticed that it was getting hot from all the strain between us. All that was left was the tense Kung-fu instrumental and the wiremen. But instead of pulling out a sword, that brat was just studying the trays as though there was something mesmerizing about them. I realized something as I stared at Sanae's bread.

"Looks like I don't have to throw these buns away after all," I muttered.

He was still looking at the bread. "What did you say?"

I stayed silent to fend him off for a while in order to fix all the words I would tell him in my mind.

A few moments later, and I was ready.

"Hey, brat."

He looked at me. "What?"

I shoved the plastic bag in his chest while looking at the bread. "Go help me stuff these in."

He looked at them, and then groaned. He got my point.

"Sanae's?" he asked, ignoring the honorific (he must've forgotten it) despite me, her husband, being in front of him…

"Sanae's."

…But the secret agent-style exchange sounded so cool that I let it go.

As though we had a mutual understanding, we stuffed the bread one by one in the bag, treating each on like radioactive waste. It didn't take us too long to get everything in.

He looked at it lamentably as though he held death. "Now what?"

I held his shoulders. "Brat…"

He raised a brow. "What?"

_Commence operation… Crap, I don't have a name yet! _"...You love Japan, right?"

He shrugged. "As much as anybody, I guess."

"Then do this for your country." I let go and pointed. "The bag. Take it home."

He shook his head. "Like hell I'll do, old man."

_Patriotism failed! _I drew close to his ear. "Come on brat, just take it. This bread will only gather mold here. They taste good, I promise 'ya. Besides, the neighbors are getting restless about me giving them leftovers every day."

He got the first part but judging by how he raised his brow, he didn't make sense of what I said about Isogai-san.

I panicked and made a face. "C'mon, just take it before Sanae finds out-"

"Finds what out?"

I turned behind me, and I saw Sanae was there with a worried face. Oh, crap.

"Find what out, Akio-san?"

I couldn't say a word as she walked towards us and saw the garbage bag. I was so nervous that I couldn't even keep my chin from not dropping.

She treated it as though it was something deadly. "What's this?"

There was no use lying about it so while turning my head away with deep eyes. I handed her the plastic bag.

She gasped with all the shock she could ever have felt.

"Akio-san, what is the meaning of this?"

"Sanae, it's not what you th—"

"Don't tell me you're going to throw these away." Her eyes welled up with tears. "Are you?"

If giving them to this brat counted as such, then yes. I didn't even deign to look at her.

"Then this means…"

_Means what?_

She sucked in air. "I'm sorry!"

She ran out the door, crying. This should be the part where I stuffed my mouth with her bread and gave chase. But now I was taken aback so much that I couldn't even move a muscle. It was as though all my strength and will vanished in an instant.

The brat took the bag and placed it on the counter. "Shouldn't you be chasing her now?"

"No, no I can't." Something was troubling me. "Not now."

He raised his brow. "Why not?"

"Because…" I realized. Why _didn't _I chase after her_?_"… I don't know."

"It has to be something."

I held my chin, and thought about it. Chasing Sanae was the wisest tack, but… Maybe it's because of something else. A hollow feeling filled my chest. The kind of feeling when you thought of missing something you really wanted. I drudged in my memory and I didn't recall anything like that happening to me. Then something came to mind.

Was it because of that?

I sat on the counter. "Tomoya." I called him that way in hopes that he would listen.

To my surprise, he reacted. "What?"

He noticed me. I was now going to tell him all the things that have been troubling me for days, wishing that he would give me a proper answer. I would have never asked for his opinion if I was able to answer things myself, but I couldn't do even that. I needed a second person, a second opinion. That moment was important. It was either I would tell him 'never mind', or go on with what I would say. I was teetering towards the first option to save some false pride…

…But then again, it was only thing that could help me at the moment.

And false pride can't do that, right?

I tried to phrase everything in my mind, pre-constructing it word by word. "I have to tell you something."

He was getting impatient. "Spit it out already."

_How should I say this?_ "I think… it's because of a dream I had."

He made a doubtful look. "What dream?"

"You see, I always had dreams of someone who gave me the best bread I ever tasted. That person always became nervous whenever I would eat it, and always smiled whenever I said the bread was great. It was not the bread that made me happy, though…"

Why was I telling him this?

I looked at him, fearing that he might laugh at me. But the brat had a straight face on and gestured me to continue. He was taking me seriously.

"… It was that person's kind smile."

I was now on a roll, explaining my dream. The brat er- I meant, Tomoya, was listening intently, actually giving a damn. And to add to the dramatic effect I took one of the breads from the trash bag and held it in my palm.

"This simple bread was very good. It was light brown, a bit undercooked, and strangely enough…" I made a curious grin. "It reminded me of the big Dango Family in some sort of way."

"Was it because it was shaped like that one?" he asked, pointing at the bun I held.

"Yes, it was." Was this going somewhere? "But it had two straight chocolate lines for eyes."

He pointed at the bread. "Just like those lines behind it?"

"Eh?" I turned it around, and two brown lines greeted me. Instantly, that feeling slapped me in the face. My eyes widened and my breathing became faster and faster. My heart felt like it would burst. "It-it can't be…"

My eyes lock-on the bun. Was this that same one from my dream?

I was doubtful though. It was just a dream anyway. How could Sanae come up with this kind of bread? Maybe it was just a coincidence. I gulped. There was only one way to know.

"So it all boils down to tasting it, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, guess so."

Oh boy. "Then be a man and taste it."

He made a dubious face. "Wait, why me?"

"Because…" I struggled to find a reason. "…real men take the fall."

"Then you do it."

"No, you do it."

"You do it!"

"No, no, you do it!"

"You chicken, you do it!"

"No, you do it because I said so!"

"So what?"

I picked something up from behind the counter. "Do it or else I'll beat you to death with this bat!"

He threw his arms in the air. "Fine, I'll do it!"

He took the bun I was holding. He stared it down, and gulped. I could feel his utter apprehension so much that I pitied him. He closed his eyes and opened his trembling mouth. His teeth sank into it. Should I get the Alka-Seltzer now?

He opened his eyes. I expected him to faint or explode or something but instead he took another bite, then another, then another, and another one until he gobbled the whole thing up. Before I knew it, he was already eating his third bun.

"It's delicious, I can't believe it!" He shouted, his voice garbled by his chewing. "You sure Sanae-san made these?"

I was stunned. Tomoya was now indulging himself in Sanae's 'what-I-thought-to-be-poisonous' bread. I took one out the bag and hold it in front of me like a torch. "Is this…"

After taking a bite, I wasn't there anymore.

…

**Somewhere in the past, who knows what time**

_I was in another place. It was warm, and it felt so familliar. There were seats, all sorts of delicious smells, a blackboard, students struggling to turn on a stove, and a retired chef's mad scowl. I was back there again. The day of our final cooking class._

"_Akio-san."_

_I turned my head. "What?"_

"_Here."_

_She handed me a tray that had something light brown in the middle_

"_Hm?"_

_She clasped her hands together, trying to look cute. "Please, taste it."_

_Skeptical, I reached for it. It felt warm. It was a baked blob with two chocolate lines for eyes._

_I raised an eyebrow. "Dango?"_

_She smiled. "Yes, it's a Dango."_

_You never run out of good ideas. I smiled also. "Looks cute."_

"_It's as good-tasting as it is cute."_

_I gave it a bite._

"_I know it's a bit undercooked but I hope you would like it."_

_A sweet feeling spread in my mouth. It threw me back to the times I used to act. I always ate sweets before any big performances to calm me down. That bread I just tasted fit into that field. And now we were going to run a bakery, this would be important._

_But what was more important was the fact that Sanae could actually bake something._

"_An-pan." I said, stunned at her work._

"_Yes." She looked nervous. "Is it good?"_

_I stood silent for a while._

"_Is it?"_

_I started nodding. "It's great. The best bread I have tasted in years."_

_This was the first step in making our dream come true._

"_Really?"_

_I smiled, but I never knew the reason why tears flowed down my cheeks. "Yes, it's wonderful."_

…

It wasn't a dream after all.

**Furukawa bakery, the present, 7:25 p.m.**

"Hey, old man. Are you still with us?"

He kept on waving his hand in my face.

"Are you still there? Yoohoo…"

How could I answer this guy after just realizing that I was a total idiot?

Not long I came back to my senses, and I was still standing in the shop, feeling so little that I couldn't move. In my hand was a light brown bun with a large bite mark. I turned it over and there were two straight chocolate lines.

I muttered, "Sanae…"

He craned over to me. "What did you say?"

With emotion welling inside me, I took the bag and rushed off.

"Sanae!"

**The park, 7:32 p.m.**

I ran through the neighborhood in the night, shouting her name, gobbling every piece of bread in the bag, cursing myself for being so stupid. I went to the places she would usually run off to. The baseball park, the tree line, that bench right across the street from our store, that big tree in the middle of the park. I couldn't find her anywhere.

"Sanae, where are you?"

No one answered me but the buzzing insects.

"God…"

_No answer, huh...?_

Like a monster raging for his lost property I kept shouting with all my might, "Sanae…!"

My voice echoed through the trees and muzzled the sound of insects in the background but still, no answer came.

_Okay, one more time. With feeling!_

"…SANAE-!"

And from the distance… a reply came.

"Shut up asshole, we're trying to sleep here!"

Well, not the answer I expected. Now even the neighbors heard me but not Sanae. Crap!

In rage I shouted back, "Ahhh, what do you care?" And eat this: "And you're an asshole, too!"

Exasperated and out of voice, I sighed. The trees started to loom large, and the sounds of insects enveloped everything in synchronized buzzing. Everything looked so big. It was as though I wouldn't be able to find anyone in that murk. Then I realized what if I tried to reassess everything? _Yeah, if I did… I'll try that._

I sat on a park bench and made a thinking pose, trying to figure out what I should do. After minutes of labored thinking and my stress rearing its ugly head though, I kicked the air. Aw hell, who was I fooling? There was no way I could find her here! She was good at hiding and I wasn't a good player of hide-and-seek back in the day so how can I expect to do that? And to think I used to call myself 'Hot-blooded Akio'…

I went through the playground since it was the fastest way. As the moon stood still in the sky I tumbled my way home, having a funny feeling in my stomach. I had tried looking for Sanae everywhere, but it was as if she was avoiding me deliberately.

I sighed and was about to leave the park when a slim figure sitting on the swing caught my attention. It took my brain a while to realize I wasted an hour and a half running senselessly around the suburb when I could have just walked across the street from my house and took a left turn…

_SHE WAS THERE ALL THIS TIME?_

Like a shot, I felt drained the second I realized it was her. All that guilt and shame came up in my mind again. I hesitate to approach but my legs started moving as though they had a life of their own. Not long afterwards, I was right behind her.

I swallowed to calm myself. "H-hey."

She glanced at me. "Are you done throwing away my bread?"

I stayed silent, guilty.

"I'm pathetic, am I not?"

_What's with the archaic grammar?_ I shook my head. "No, of course not."

She looked down, being miserable. "I'm sorry…"

_Why are you saying that?_ "Sanae, it's me who should say sorry, not you."

I saw tears fall on her lap. "I'm so sorry…"

"Please, listen to me," I said, desperate to calm her down.

"Even when I made that bread back then… why can't I make it now?"

I knew what she was talking about. "You don't need to make it again.

"But the bread…" She was whimpering, "… The very first one I made for you. I knew you loved me so I decided to give my share through that bun."

I stood there silent, doubting if I should let her continue.

"Then, with all the love you gave me I figured that I should give back more. So I made new kinds of bread so I can show you my love. But with every failure, with every time you pass them off to Isogai-san, with every time you go to the toilet because of my bread, I, I feel so ungrateful. You gave your all to love me, yet I can't even show it with something as easy as baking bread. When you throw them away, I realized that I'm not doing enough.

"My bread's been deadweight, baggage, toys, everything." She continued, with pain, guilt and tears filling her face. "It's a sign that I'm not a good wife, a good baker, and when I'm not a good baker, I'm not good at anything! I'm so horrible that I almost let our daughter die that day…"

Now she was blaming herself for Nagisa again. That was bad. "Sanae, calm down."

Her voice was breaking. "It's my fault, it's my fault, everything's my fault!"

I held her shoulders. "Sanae, please!"

She covered her face as though she was going crazy. "Whenever I think about how it's my fault, I just want to die!"

_There always comes a time when a man has to risk it all. I remembered that an author named Heinlein said it best when he quoted in one of his works that a person had to 'risk his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor.' And those who failed the challenge are merely 'Overgrown children.'_

_In a split second, that seemed like an eternity, I encountered that personal dilemma and made the decision just as quick as I came across it. Like a blind, impulsive action. I was faced with a Hobson's choice; I would either lose my wife, or save her. This had to be dealt with that very moment._

_So, as she was bawling, I held the back of her head with my hand, and pulled her in close to me. I wanted to protect her, and it was clearly the time to make her have solace in the fact that I was there for her._

_As Sanae's lips landed on mine and we kissed, I saw that her eyes opened up with pure innocence streaking in the pupils. The kind girls made only at their first kisses. To be more exact, it was like that of a little girl. Something that reminded me of my daughter. _

I held in my emotions for a bit longer. "Sanae…"

This was the least I

She covered the spot with her hand. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know what came over me just now…"

I sighed, and took a seat on the chain swing next to her. Then I beckoned her. "Sit."

She rested on the other swing, and we stayed silent for a while. It looks like we both wanted to talk but neither of us had the will to. But I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"So…" I hesitated, but I secretly hit my knee to will myself. "You've been feeling that way all this time?"

Without looking, she gave a deep nod.

I had been such an idiot. "Sanae, it's not your fault for Nagisa almost dying. I had my part in that too. We both left her. But that's not happening again, I swear."

She stayed silent, taking it in. Would she stop now?

"As for your bread, I throw them away because they didn't taste g-"

She started crying again.

"Er- I meant, your bread isn't appreciated by everybody. Including me." I said with a thumb up.

In two seconds flat, she covered her face and cried a river.

"Geh, was there something wrong with what I said?"

I scrambled to calm her down, but she raised a hand in front of her face.

"No," she rubbed her eyes. "It's fine. Don't worry. You should say that about my bread."

"But," I gave a comforting smile, "Not all your breads are like that."

I raised the garbage bag and reached inside. There was only one left. I took it out, and in my palm was a light brown blob covered in crumbs. I turned it over and discovered the other chocolate line was halved.

"This little guy's great," I said, being proud of showing it to her.

It took her a while to stop crying and start looking at me straight.

She gasped in surprise. "That's my chocolate An-pan with orange zest."

I took a bite and looked. This was An-pan? And it had chocolate, too.

"Well anyway, this is the best piece of bread I've ever tasted in my whole life." Everything was now going normal again and now I should pull her away from that tragic memory. "Like you said, you put all your love in this bread and I wouldn't throw it away for anything."

I stood up and took her hand. Her eyes widened, but I told her there was nothing to worry about.

"I've been such an idiot for not realizing how much love you've been putting in the other breads," I said. "And also for being too blind to not remember the best bread you made."

She looked up at me. "Akio…"

"Also, it's not all your fault. We'll share it together. And I'll always be by your side to share it with you."

"Thank you, Akio…" She said in a voice that caressed the blowing wind.

My eyes were going to break in overwhelming emotion. "Sanae…"

I pulled her up and wrapped my arms around her. It's been long since I remembered that giving hugs feltwarm when you really care about the person you give them to.

**Furukawa bakery, 8:05 p.m.**

It was about eight o'clock when Nagisa said that dinner was getting cold. It was quite an understatement to Tomoya, knowing that it should have started two hours ago.

"They're taking too long," he said, looking out the shop window with arms folded.

"I'm worried, Tomoya-kun." Nagisa was staring out the door.

"Maybe Sanae ran off somewhere you know…" He shrugged his arms,"far."

She held herself. "I hope they're alright."

Tomoya looked far off into the shrubbery across the street, his eyes getting lost in the darkness outside. When two figures suddenly emerged, he widened his eyes.

"Keh, it's them."

Nagisa was about to go into the backdoor. "Eh?"

And there they were, walking hand in hand, arm over shoulder, like two lovers on their first date. Secretly, he had an image of Nagisa and him walking like that.

They both ran out the door.

"Where were you guys?" he said. "Took you long enough."

Akio was caressing his wife in his arms, smiling like never before. Tomoya didn't know what was happening but, judging how they were acting (and how they ignored his question by going straight into the shop), he guessed something changed. But then he conked himself lightly on the head.

It was something he shouldn't put his nose in.

So he patted Nagisa on the head, told her to reheat dinner, and went inside. She trailed in soon after, closing the Furukawa bakery's door for another night.

In that, she made sure that the night today and all the others after it will never be the same again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: So, that's the fanfic for you. It's a repost, yeah. But I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it out. I'll make sure to churn out more fics in the future so guys. thanks again for reading.<strong>_

_**But then again, this fic's not actually done. There's still another chapter left so to those who are still interested, onwards!**_


	3. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer:**__ (Raises right hand with wooden starfish) I, (Whatever my pen name is now), solemnly swear under the law and the constitution of the Starfish Alliance of Japan (if there is any) that I do not own Clannad since it belongs to Key, Kyo Ani, and Toei (they made the movie, right?). Only the story and ideas presented in this fanfic are mine. No profit is being made by the author of this story._

_So help me starfish._

_**Author's note: **__Okay guys, what you are seeing now is the Epilogue; a sort of flashback into Akio's life ten years ago. It's only a little backgrounder of what happened before the events of the story ten years prior so you can go not read it and still grasp the whole story from the last two chapters of this fic. But, if you still want more stuff to read, then read on and I hope you'll enjoy it._

_Now, enough with my drabbling and, like I always say, onwards with the fic!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Epilogue:<br>Once Upon a Wintry Afternoon in Hikarizaka, 1994**_

**Shinsen commercial building, Rakuichi street, Hikarizaka shopping district; 4:23 p.m.**

"_Okay class, I hope you have learned what you need to know when it comes to baking," The portly teacher said as he smiled and looked at every one of us. "Use these skills in the future and make the best out of them. Make me proud!" He gave us a nod. "That is all. Those who are still interested may come back next week…"_

_The class had ended and my wife and I were now going arm in arm down the stairs of the commercial building towards the exit. The baking seminar had been pretty fun, and Sanae looked like she did have it in her to bake. This was very good, indeed. Our new bakery won't churn out bread without at least one baker, right?_

"_Akio-san," She said, looking down. "Are you sure I can do this?"_

_You're sad again? "Of course, you can. You proved it yourself just now, remember?" I crinkled my brows. "And what do you mean 'I'? It's 'you and me' who will do this. That makes it 'we'. We're in this together."_

_She nodded. "You're right." Her face brightened with a smile. "I'm sorry if I doubted even a bit. It's just that I'm…"_

_I raised a finger. "Don't say it. Remember what Kojima-hakase said?"_

_She pouched out her lips a bit, trying to be cute in remembering. "Hmmm… don't say any 'deterring' words?"_

_If you do… __it__ will happen again. "That's right."I grinned. "Now, my beautiful wife, shall we go and pick up our equally beautiful daughter?"_

_Her eyes widened as she gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. "Oh, yes. The elementary school, I forgot! Nagisa must be missing us by now…"_

_Even though she was old enough to get home herself, Nagisa was unable to do so because she was rendered physically weak by that 'incident'. That was why it was listed second on the long list of compromises Sanae and I made afterwards; from then on, we swore to bring her to school and take her home afterwards. I was willing to do this until she would reach college, but Sanae thought otherwise. We would only have to escort our daughter until she would reach junior high, at most. _

_But still, my wife had a point with that. We shouldn't had been doing this at all if it weren't for our mistake._

"_No, she's not." I said to reel her away from an anxiety attack. "She's probably waiting for us patiently while bragging to her friends that her parents are going to become Japan's greatest bakers!"_

_She kept her smile for that statement, but I saw worry filtering in her eyes. "But, still…"_

_I kept quiet, not wanting to expand the subject from whatever it was at that point._

_**An elementary school, name undecipherable due to rusting of sign, Hikarizaka; 4:41 p.m.**_

_ A taxi ride across town later and we were in front of this colorful little building with kids pouring out like how I pour out lines in a play. Lots, but in slow bursts. I saw other parents waiting beside us, hugging their children the second they see they come out of the river of noisy kids. Sanae and I tried to make out our daughter from the line. Maybe I should get some An-pan and a fishing pole…_

_Then my wife pointed. "Over there!"_

_I threw my sight to that direction. From the canal of black, blue, red, and some pink heads emerged two tall antennae of chestnut brown hair like a walking mantis. _

_That Ahoge was useful, after all._

_As it progressed through the crowd, we waited until it came out and along with it our daughter; our little Nagisa._

"_Nagisa!" my wife greeted as she kneeled and wrapped her arms around our daughter. "I missed you so much…"_

_Nagisa wrapped her arms around the back of Sanae's neck in an attempt to hug her fully. "Me too, Okaa-__t__an…"_

_I facepalmed. I was proud of my daughter, no doubt. But it had already been nine years so why couldn't she still pronounce 'san' right…?_

_Well anyway, they were showing a bond; a bond between a mother and her daughter. That made them inseparable. So, even though this had already happened ever since Nagisa entered Kindergarten, it still must've been hard for them both to separate for our daughter's first day of school._

"_Was school fun?" Sanae asked, wiping the little girl's face._

"_Y-yes." Her eyes went down. "But, I wasn't able to make friends…"_

_Sanae looked worried, but that was just her version of an overreaction. It was natural for people not to meet anyone on the first day of anything. Heck, I wasn't known by anyone on my acting troupe for more than a week until someone realized I was the lead role for their play. They actually thought I was the janitor. Hilarity ensued._

"_Don't worry, Nagisa." I said, "You can make a lot more friends tomorrow since a lot of these kids know each other but they don't know you. They'll be eating off the palm of your hand, I swear!"_

_I looked at Sanae. Some of that anxiety and dread disappeared from her face. She finally realized what I wanted our daughter to believe._

"_Are you sure?" My daughter asked with that trademark curiosity any child would have._

"_Of course, I am," I hooked a thumb. "Now let's go home."_

_They both nodded._

_I gone on, "But before that…"_

_Sanae's eyes fitted with a quest for knowledge. "Before that what, Akio-san?"_

_I asked. "You two haven't seen the new house yet, right?"_

_It took a second for Nagisa's eyes to widen and two for Sanae to gasp. Such are the rewards of the element of surprise._

"_You're going to take us there?" My wife asked._

_I nodded. "Uh-huh." The contractors said that it was safe to look at now after I bought it and had its front converted into a bakery. Now we could tour the house we would live in after I get all the loan money I needed to pay for it in full._

_My daughter jumped in the air. "Yay! New house! New house!"_

_I smiled, and a minute later, I was able to call another taxi to a sleepy little subdivision that had a park and some samey-looking houses…_

_**The (future) Furukawa bakery, Hikarizaka; 4:57 p.m.**_

_ But one of them stuck out._

_It was a store with the sign 'Furukawa bread', ready to be lit at any time. Finally, a business that's only to ourselves._

"_Well here it is, our new house and bakery," I proclaimed as I climbed out the taxi._

_Sanae was guiding Nagisa out the car. "Wow, it looks so beautiful…"_

_I picked in my pocket. "Do you want to see what's inside?" I had the keys._

_She looked at our daughter. "Nagisa, do you want to see the new bakery we will have?"_

_She smiled. "Yes!"_

_As the cab cruised away, I took off the padlocks and raised the steel shutters that sent shakes in my chest. Then I unlocked the door and beckoned everyone to come inside._

"_Wow, it's even better than I expected!"_

_Sanae was getting excited as I studied the room that was supposed to be the store. The guys at that construction firm really made a good job; Whitewash walls and a nice tile floor. It even had a nice-looking counter and some wooden shelves that gave the place a sort of rustic feel. There was even the cash register the old owner of this place was nice enough to give us. It was my first time to see it too, after having it renovated. Some tables and some fancy store window designs would get this place kicking in no time._

"_It's so big," My daughter said in wonderment. She started tugging the end of my shirt "Otou-tan, can I go exploring around the house for a while?"_

_She won't hurt herself, right? I nodded. "Just don't touch anything; not yet. Come back afterwards, okay?"_

_She saluted, "Yes!" It was a technique she probably learned from her mother._

_Then she tottered away into the backroom as Sanae's eyes noticed that Nagisa was gone._

"_Where's Nagisa?"She asked, knocked out of her sensation of being a child with a Christmas present._

_I pointed. "Taking a look in the house. Don't worry, she'll be fine."_

_She made a half-frown. "Are you sure…?"_

"_More than that." I threw a nod at the wall behind me. "Anyway, what do you think would be a good display? You see, I was planning to put our specials there in front…"_

_Her head tilted down. "Akio…"_

"_Well, if you don't like that, we can always put the not-so-special bread there and put all the specials near the counter."_

"_Akio,,,"_

_Repetitiveness meant something. "What is it? You don't like the glass window pane up front? We can make it squared and stuff like the ones at your parent's place if you want."_

_She shook her head, showing a much deeper reason."I really don't think I can do it. Baking looks pretty hard. And I still have my job at school to worry about and Nagi-"_

"_I told you to quit teaching, right?" I said._

"_I know but, I'm not really sure about this. We need something to fall back on in case of… You know, __**that**__."_

_I bent a brow. "Fallback? Are you saying this business might fall flat on itself or something?"_

_She looked away. "I swore to myself to never lie so… yes." She nodded. "Yes, I do."_

_This slightly ticked me off. "Why are you so negative all of the sudden, huh? Sanae, I'm telling you to give this thing a chance, let it work. I can't do this alone and you know that."_

"_But…" Her eyes went half-veiled. "It's you I'm also worried about."_

_It took me a while for this to sink in. "…What?"_

"_I know you're doing this for Nagisa and you gave up acting and all but, if this bakery fails…" She tried to shake it off. "You've given up a lot of things for this. I, I won't know what I would do if you fell into something like…" She sighed. "…What I fell into."_

_Now she was all miserable. I didn't want that. I want her to be happy and make her part in what I was doing. "Just so you know, acting was my dream."_

_She nodded. "I already know that."_

"_But now after everything had happened, I got a new dream."_

_She squinted one eye a bit. "A new dream…?"_

_I looked at her and grinned. "Nagisa."_

_At that moment, her mouth made an 'O' as she slowly understood what this place was for my daughter, my wife, my family._

"_This empty store we are in right now is where my old dreams would end, and my new one would start. Here we will be a family and make the most out of our lives as much as we can with our daughter." I held her shoulder. Feelings of awareness tingled in both of us._

"_But for that to be possible," I stared at her with comforting eyes. "I need you to make her your dream as well. Can you do that?"_

_Her eyes looked up to me. Those shining Auburn pools were showing willingness yet hesitation at the same time._

"_Also," I continued, "You two are the only ones I have now. I want the both of you to be happy; I want __**you**__to be happy."_

_She was still hesitating, but it was slowly fading away like the afternoon sun._

"_Yes," she finally said. "Yes, I understand. I'll make her, no-I mean, she __is __my dream. It will be hard to give up on the old one. But I will do everything I can." She smiled. "For all of us."_

"_Then," I wrapped my hand behind her warm neck. The tips of her long hair that touched my nose smelled good. "Let's start that dream together."_

_I drew her close, the warmth blowing into my face her breath. I could feel her worries vanishing in an instant, and behind her I could imagine seeing shelves full of bread, customers buying them, and the three of us working together as a family._

_Then I pulled her close and our lips met. A warm, ardent feeling spread in my body. We were now in each other's heartfelt embrace, and now we had no worries about what the future may bring. Everything was, at that moment, between us. All that mattered was the bonding between the two of us. And nothing would change that…_

"_Otou-tan, Okaa-tan, what are you doing?"_

…_except our innocent little daughter who, judging by her surprised facial expression, had been probably watching us the whole time (…!)._

_Very bad timing._

_And like that, I gasped and pushed Sanae away like she had the plague._

"_N-N-Nagisa!" I shouted. "Um, uh, what were you doing there?"_

_She pouted her lips out, another thing she took from her mother. "You told me to come back once I was done exploring right, Otou-san?"_

_Crap, it was my fault! "What you saw just now… wasn't real. It was your imagination; school's gone to yer' head! Me and your mother kissing? Pfffttt… Hah!"_

_She put a finger to her mouth. "So that's what kissing is…"_

_Hiii…! I taught my daughter something bad! "That's something you should only see when you're… thirty years old! It was your imagination, I tell 'ya!"_

_Sanae, just realizing what happened, looked at me then Nagisa. She broke out a smile. "Nagisa, your father and I were just having… A 'mutual agreement' with each other."_

"_A 'mutual agreement'?"She asked innocently, "What's that, Okaa-tan?"_

"_It's-"_

"_Something you will learn as an adult," I interjected._

_It was good that Sanae was easy-going with stuff like that. I would get a bopping if she didn't. Then suddenly, she started laughing out of context. I didn't know why but I started laughing too, and Nagisa started soon after. We were the Furukawas, laughing away the afternoon in our own little bakery._

_And it will be like that long after._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: <strong>__So, that's that. The fic is finished. To those who have made it this far, thanks for reading and please review! Your opinions and suggestions are important and they will more than help me make my writing (and my English) better. Thanks a lot!_


End file.
